€1.4 million spent on education daily

The Malta Indipendent online
08 March 2010
by Scott Grech


The government forks out around €1.4 million daily in educational resources, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said yesterday.

Speaking in a PN activity in Santa Venera, Dr Gonzi said that the government does not see the expenditure of such money as an expense, but an investment which will bear great fruits in the future.

“Investing in education is the key to a strong and qualified working force, which will sustain the economy and enable the country and its workers to enjoy a prosperous future. Others lament that such expenditure is a dent to the government’s budget and resources, while others are the first to keep quiet when a renowned company chooses this country, out of other 53 countries, as the perfect place to invest in a €1.6 billion contract, listing a well qualified working force as one of the reasons why when explaining its final decision,” said Dr Gonzi.

The Prime Minister was referring to the contract signed towards the end of last year with SR Technics, which is expected to open its airplane maintenance facility in the coming months.

Flanked by Education Minister Dolores Cristina and MP Censu Galea, dispelling recent allusions of unrest and turmoil amongst government members, Dr Gonzi said he is often asked by officials of other countries how a country with a population of less than half a million managed to stifle the dangers of such a severe economic recession.

“Investing in a healthy education has attracted a great deal of foreign investment, creating further jobs and sustaining existing ones. Last Monday Dr Muscat accused the government of failing to act on its promises. Where was Dr Muscat when a mere three days later, Ryanair announced that it will set up an aircraft base and operate an additional six routes, to its existing 13, as from May this year?

“This is not to say that Malta’s economy did not shrink as a result of the recession, but where other countries have a deficit four times higher than the EU average and unemployment rates of 20 per cent, it is thanks to this government’s decisions that a sustainable economy has been ensured,” said the PM.

Dr Gonzi was making reference to Greece and Spain, two countries currently in turmoil. With countries such as the UK, Ireland and the USA dragged to their knees because of the recession, the PM added that the country’s economy did not go down a similar path thanks to three fundamental aspects: EU membership, adopting the Euro as a currency and implementing a series of reforms which had long been in the pipeline, while in the meantime also slashing income taxes for the third year in succession.

“The Opposition was always against EU membership, going as far as listing the companies which would crumble and fade into nothing if the country had to join the EU, during pointless mass meetings. The Labour Party even cast severe warnings that, at the time, is was yet too early to adopt the Euro, while it criticised the government for closing down the Malta Drydocks, which wiped out €40 million in yearly losses, and also criticised the country for not doing enough to attract tourists to the island.

“Had the PN listened to the Opposition’s advice, then the consequences on our economy would have been much greater. Two years since the day the country took to the polls, the rent reform, the local councils reform, the public transport reform, increasing student scholarships and the transformation of our capital city have meant that the country is well on track in achieving Vision 2015, making Malta a centre of excellence on all fronts,” added Dr Gonzi.

In recognition of Women’s Day, being celebrated today, Dr Gonzi expressed his delight at a Eurostat report released earlier this week, which showed that over the course of four years, between 2005 and 2009, Malta was the country out of EU members which recorded the fifth highest number of increases in women entering the working environment.

“Whereas other countries averaged a growth of two per cent in women entering the labour environment, Malta enjoyed a growth more than twice the average, an increase of over four percent. The government also helped ease the transition for women to enter the work environment, introducing added family friendly measures as well as coming up with incentives such as reducing the income taxes of women who enter work shortly after giving birth. More than 2,000 women have already benefited from such a scheme, for the government has continuously focused on the importance of achieving equality among the sexes at heart,” stated Dr Gonzi.
http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=102723